Solana memecoin GME pumps 460%, Tornado Cash developer sentenced to 64 months, Coinbase Recovers from Outage
GME Memecoin Surges 460% Following ‘Roaring Kitty’ Reappearance
The GME memecoin, named after GameStop’s stock ticker but not officially linked to the company, experienced a dramatic 460% increase in value on Tuesday, as reported by Coingecko. This surge followed a substantial rally in GameStop’s stock, which was sparked by a post from Keith Gill, known as @TheRoaringKitty, who tweeted for the first time in nearly three years. Gill and the subreddit WallStreetBets played a central role in the 2021 meme stock frenzy.
QCP Capital analysts noted that while the broader market remains quiet, GME’s price rose by over 80% following Gill’s tweet. This momentum carried over into the equity markets, where GameStop and AMC shares were set to open significantly higher, with GameStop up 120% and AMC up 100% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Other meme stocks also showed potential for substantial gains, suggesting a resurgence of the meme stock phenomenon that gained traction during the pandemic. The GMCI Meme Index, which tracks major memecoins by market capitalization, rose by 7.65%, reaching 308.52.
This resurgence in memecoins and meme stocks highlights the ongoing influence of social media and retail investor communities on market dynamics.
Source: The Block
Tornado Cash Developer Alexey Pertsev Found Guilty of Money Laundering
Alexey Pertsev, one of the developers of Tornado Cash, has been found guilty of money laundering. The verdict came from a Dutch judge after an intensive trial. Pertsev, who was arrested in the Netherlands in August 2022, was accused of facilitating money laundering activities worth $1.2 billion through the Tornado Cash platform.
This platform, a privacy tool that obscures transactions, was allegedly used by the North Korean hacking group Lazarus to launder stolen crypto funds. The 31-year-old is sentenced to 64 months in prison.
The indictment against Pertsev included 40 suspicious transactions, with the largest linked to the infamous hack of Axie Infinity’s Ronin Network, where $625 million was stolen.
Tornado Cash was blacklisted by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in August 2022 due to its alleged use by the Lazarus group. Pertsev was arrested shortly thereafter, charged with participating in a criminal organization and habitual money laundering.
Other Tornado Cash developers, such as Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, also face similar charges in the U.S. Storm was arrested last year and is scheduled to go to trial in September, while Semenov has not yet been arrested.
The outcome of Pertsev’s trial could set a precedent for future cases against developers of similar platforms. The crypto community is closely monitoring developments, as legal and regulatory frameworks continue to evolve to address the challenges posed by decentralized technologies.
Source: CoinDesk
Coinbase Recovers from Outage, Some Users Still Face Issues
Coinbase, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume, experienced a major system-wide outage on May 14, lasting three hours. The platform announced recovery at 7:34 am UTC, but many users still faced issues with transfers and withdrawals. The exact cause of the outage remains unknown and is under investigation.
Despite declaring full operational status, several users reported ongoing technical difficulties, prompting calls for community fact-checking on social media. Such outages can significantly impact trust in centralized exchanges, highlighting the challenges they face compared to decentralized platforms.
Source: Cointelegraph
